USFR Customer Support

See the latest reader comments and hear John explain some of agriculture’s complex topics.

Viewers Speak: Cost of Production and a Weather Question

Mar 11, 2014

***Editor's Note: The following viewer comments were received in response to the March 8-9, 2014 edition of U.S. Farm Report...

#1: I'll tell you right up front that I am a retired part time farmer and certainly don't pretend to be a marketing expert. One statement that marketing advisers like to make that always raises questions in my mine is roughly "Know your cost of production and if the price of corn, beans, etc. is above your cost of production you need to think about selling". I would NOT dispute that you MUST know your cost of production. However I would argue that your decision to sell needs to be made only on your best understanding of the markets. It seems to me that if the market is up, yet still below your cost of production, you need to be thinking about how to either enhance the value of your crop, or lower your cost of production! Holding for a higher price will simply compound your losses. The Achilles heel of the part time farmer is a high cost of production. Gail Metzger - Bronson, MI

#2: Does humidity affect how we perceive cold as it does how we perceive hot? I have noticed a few times that a day will feel colder than the day before, but the temperature is a few degrees higher. Everything thing else is almost the same such as wind speed, cloud cover, etc. If humidity does affect how we perceive cold, is it not mentioned because wind chill is a bigger factor? Thanks, John Morgan - Lexington, MO